Eidos

Christmas always slows things down. The rush softens, and the noise fades a little. And that’s when it feels natural to take a step back and reflect on the ideas that landed, the goals we hit (and missed), and the lessons we learned.

This year, Eidos Design grew from a solo Substack to a growing community. It became an ongoing conversation about design, AI, ethics, craft, and careers. Some posts sparked debate, others quietly resonated (I hope so!). A few traveled further than I ever expected.

To wrap up the year, I want to share our 10 best posts from 2025:

1. When AI Creates Everything, Who Decides What Matters?
A conversation between a Product Designer and Product Manager on identity, creativity, and the uncomfortable future of digital work.
https://eidosdesign.substack.com/p/when-ai-creates-everything-who-decides

2. Why Passion Still Matters in a World Obsessed with Metrics
The hard, unpopular truth about what actually drives long-term success in design (and anything else).
https://eidosdesign.substack.com/p/why-passion-still-matters-in-a-world

3. How Do You Design For Preventative User Behavior?
How Data and Psychology Drive Lasting Behavior Change
https://eidosdesign.substack.com/p/how-do-you-design-for-preventative

4. AI in UX Studio: LLMs Basics & How to build custom GPT for your next UX project
A Practical Guide to AI for UX Designers
https://eidosdesign.substack.com/p/ai-in-ux-studio-how-to-build-custom

5. AI in UX Studio: Learning Roadmap for the AI-Powered UX Designer
5 AI Skills Every UX Designer Will Need by 2027
https://eidosdesign.substack.com/p/ai-in-ux-studio-learning-roadmap

6. AI in UX Studio: Start UX Prompting Like a Pro
Pro Techniques for Mastering Your AI Assistant as UX designer & Researcher
https://eidosdesign.substack.com/p/ai-in-ux-studio-start-ux-prompting

7. Digital Spaces That Shape Our Memories
The UX of Digital Nostalgia
https://eidosdesign.substack.com/p/digital-spaces-that-shape-our-memories

8. How Tech Specialists Can Tap Into Opportunities Beyond Listings
How to find and land design roles that never get publicly posted
https://eidosdesign.substack.com/p/how-tech-specialists-can-tap-into

9. Why Every Brand Looks the Same, And Why That Might Finally Be Changing.
In our quest for simplicity, clarity, and optimization, did we forget how to stand out? A look at the identity crisis plaguing modern brand design, and the quiet rebellion that’s bringing soul back.
https://eidosdesign.substack.com/p/why-every-brand-looks-the-same-and

10. Designing Your Job Hunt with AI: How to Stand Out Without Burning Out
Practical strategies and tips using AI to make your UX job search easier, strengthen your portfolio, and stand out in a busy design market, without burning out.
https://eidosdesign.substack.com/p/designing-your-job-hunt-with-ai-how

And before the year ends, I want to say 'Thank you!' to everyone, who read our posts, shared them, wrote comments, disagreed in public, or continued the discussion in private. Merry Christmas and happy holidays, folks! See you soon in 2026!

2025 was the year design matured. AI didn’t take our jobs (thankfully 😁), but it did make us faster and more effective. And what’s really fascinating, is that it also brought ownership, ethics, emotions, and designer responsibility back into the conversation.

In the latest Eidos Design issue, I look back at what changed for us as designers this year and what’s coming in 2026:
• How AI quietly reshaped our work
• Why mockups fade but meaning, trust, and emotion don’t
• Rufus by Amazon: is AI the future of shopping or just smarter confusion?
• A funny but practical AI prompt to actually help you pick meaningful Christmas gifts 😄

I’d love for you to join the conversation about where digital design and tech are heading next year 🤗

https://open.substack.com/pub/eidosdesign/p/eidos-design-volume-xxiii-designing

Eidos Design. Volume XXIII: Designing Tomorrow. Lessons from 2025, Hopes for 2026 A Year in Design, A Glimpse Into Tomorrow.

My feed is full of takes like: “Passion comes from success. You do something, get feedback, improve, succeed a few times — and then you feel passionate.”

Sounds neat. Also: it’s bu****it.

I've published an essay that’s probably my favorite thing I’ve written this year — a quick but honest dive into the one thing that keeps you in the game when everything outside is quiet.

Why Passion Still Matters in a World Obsessed with Metrics The hard, unpopular truth about what actually drives long-term success in design (and anything else).

Design tools stopped being “tools” this month. They became operating systems.
And November made that shift very, very clear.

Figma turned design systems into AI translation layers.
Webflow started generating production-ready React apps from prompts.
Canva moved into full design operations.
Sketch (yeah, it's still alive actually!) doubled down on native craft while everyone else went web + AI.

Different moves, same direction: Design infrastructure is becoming AI infrastructure.

In the new issue of Eidos Design, my co-author Mykola Korzh breaks it own:
🔹 How design systems now “talk” to AI
🔹 Why coding isn’t the bottleneck anymore
🔹 Why context-aware AI tools matter more than features
🔹 What designers need to master next

If you want a clear view of where design is actually heading — this one’s for you.

Link in the first comment 👇

Comfort is a nice place for humans, but nothing grows there. And no great designer ever built their legacy by playing it safe.

I’ve come to believe that bravery isn’t just useful for designers. It’s essential. Bravery doesn't always mean launching a startup or reinventing the wheel. Sometimes it means speaking up when it's easier to stay silent. Sometimes it means pushing a bold idea through layers of resistance. It's also choosing the path with more uncertainty but greater meaning.

So, what does bravery look like in our careers? How does it manifest in our leadership, work, and decisions? How do we maintain that bravery when the easier choice is to settle? These are the questions I reflect on in the latest issue of Eidos Design, and I invite you to join me in exploring them.

Of course, we will review an app (the bravest one I know, called Slowly), and take a look at an inspiring, brave design story from Ukraine.

Read the full issue and let's talk 🤗

October was a special month this year. For me, the main takeaway was the idea shared in the State of UX report by UX Collective. It emphasized that digital design has changed so drastically that the old format is no longer effective.

New tools, new rules, new questions.

This year and October especially gave us plenty of all three, from the rise of AI-driven creativity to reflections on what makes design human in an increasingly automated world.

I decided to compile a list of the best articles from this month on my Substack. If you missed any of these insights, here’s your shortcut to the most talked-about reads from Eidos Design.

🔗 Beyond Persuasion: Navigating the Ethics of Digital Products
https://eidosdesign.substack.com/p/beyond-persuasion-navigating-the
Every pixel shapes behavior. This piece explores how our design decisions influence people’s choices — sometimes more than we realize. It introduces a six-lens ethical framework to help designers and developers reflect, act responsibly, and create products that build trust instead of exploiting it.

🔗 AI in UX Studio: From Brief to High-Fidelity
https://eidosdesign.substack.com/p/ai-in-ux-studio-from-brief-to-high
A hands-on guide to turning text prompts into high-fidelity prototypes using tools like Google Stitch. Learn how to structure your prompts, refine results, and use AI to accelerate your creative process. The future of design is iterative, fast, and still deeply human.

🔗 Eidos Design. Volume XIX: The Rise Of Invisible Design
https://eidosdesign.substack.com/p/eidos-design-volume-xix
Interfaces are fading, and experiences are becoming ambient. This article explores the rise of calm technology and ethical design in an attention-driven world. Featuring the Lemio app and the Clock of the Long Now, it’s a reminder that patience and purpose can be powerful design principles.

🔗 The Role of Emotions in Digital Products
https://eidosdesign.substack.com/p/the-role-of-emotions-in-digital-products
A deep dive into Don Norman’s three levels of emotional design. Discover how understanding users’ emotions turns good products into meaningful experiences and why empathy remains the most advanced design tool we have.

🔗 Figma, Adobe, and Webflow lead the charge as AI transforms design tools. Explore the latest launches, acquisitions, and what's next for UX design.
https://eidosdesign.substack.com/p/eidos-design-volume-xx-october-news

Figma, Adobe, and Webflow are redefining what it means to design in the age of AI. From Figma’s partnerships with OpenAI and Google to Adobe’s AI Foundry and Webflow’s intelligent CMS, the message is clear — ex*****on is being automated, strategy is becoming the new design superpower.

The meaning of "digital design" is changing right now.

Join us at Eidos Design to help shape what comes next.

Early in my career, I clung to the common idea that “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” It felt safe. If everyone had different tastes, then I could never really be wrong, right?

Not really.

But how do you create something beautiful when beauty supposedly doesn’t exist? How do you design for everyone when everyone wants something different?

Then I discovered research by Stefan Sagmeister and Jessica Walsh that changed everything. They found that certain aspects of beauty resonate universally. As human-beings we share deep-rooted patterns in how we perceive and respond to visual information. Beauty isn’t entirely random — it follows psychological principles we can understand and apply.

This revelation opened a door I didn’t know existed. If there are universal patterns in how we experience beauty, what about emotions? Fear, joy, trust, frustration — do these follow patterns too?

They do!

The real question isn’t whether digital design is subjective or objective; it’s whether you’re designing for the whole human experience. Can you create something that connects emotionally, builds loyalty, and simply works for everyone?

And if you've read this far and are interested in learning more about the role of emotions in product design and development and how to win people over, then I invite you to continue reading at the link below 🤗